News & Events

Film The House 2018

11 June 2018 | Posted in Events

Entries for Film the House 2018, Parliament’s annual cross‐party film competition are now officially
open, with top prizes on offer for the winners.
Film the House is an annual competition run by MPs to find the filmmakers and script writers of
tomorrow. Now in its sixth year, the competition was created to invite and showcase the best young
UK talent in filmmaking and scriptwriting. The competition also provides a fun and innovative way to
highlight the importance of – and urgent need to protect ‐ intellectual property rights.
Each year young filmmakers and script writers from across the country submit entries for Film the
House to their local Member of Parliament. MPs receive entries across a range of categories –
including Best Script (under and over 16) and Best Short Film (under and over 16) – and then pick the
best of these to put forward to represent their constituency in the competition.
Once MPs have made their submissions, an expert industry panel of leading figures from across
Britain’s creative landscape chooses the finalists. The winners are announced at an awards
ceremony in the House of Commons and prizes include private screenings, mentoring from film
industry professionals, bursaries and classification of the winning films by BBFC. Last year the
youngest winner was just thirteen years old.
This year’s competition is expected to be bigger than ever before, and entries must be submitted by
September 30th. The competition enjoys widespread support from industry and is sponsored by 21st
Century Fox, the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), The Motion Picture Association,
Sky, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Viacom.
Commenting, Sir Kevin Barron, Sponsor and Chair of the All Party Film Group, said:
“Film the House provides a fun way for young people and MPs to learn and understand more about
the hugely important role that the creative industries sector plays in the UK economy, generating
£92bn each year. The sector is growing fast and the next generation is going to be vital in ensuring
that continues – so we are delighted to be able to sponsor a competition which focuses squarely on
nurturing the talent of the future”
Commenting, Lord Puttnam, Patron of Film the House and producer of Oscar winning films
including Chariots of Fire, said:
“The UK has always been a hotbed of cinematic talent, which is why it’s crucial to constantly remind
legislators of the importance of protecting and supporting this rich cultural economy. Film the House
is an imaginative Parliamentary competition which manages to be fun whilst giving young creatives
an opportunity to engage with their MPs, win fantastic prizes and all the while promote the
importance of intellectual property rights. Those rights are the seed corn of your future, that being
the case I can only urge every would‐be film‐maker to give it a go!”
Notes to editors
About Film the House
Film the House was set up by former MP and IP adviser to the Prime Minister, Mike Weatherley. The
competition was set up to:
“Educate parliamentarians about the importance of the creative industries to the British economy
and how, without protecting intellectual property, we are putting important industries and revenue
streams in jeopardy.”
Film the House was launched as a fun way to educate parliamentarians and young people about the
importance of the creative industries to the UK economy and the many ways in which we can
nurture and protect our creative industries. Together with partner competition Rock the House, it is
now one of Parliament’s largest competitions and is just one of a number of initiatives that is aimed
at significantly raising awareness of the need to protect creativity and copyright by bringing together
young filmmakers and parliamentarians.
Film the House is intended to invite and to showcase the ‘best’ film‐makers and scriptwriters across
the UK – with particular emphasis on young participants and people who have not, yet, been noticed
and realised their potential. It is also a way for participants to meet their local MP and to learn a
little more about how ‘Parliament in Westminster’ works.
Film the House is being run by its industry sponsors which includes:
21st Century Fox, ALCS, The Motion Picture Association, Sky, Warner Bros. Entertainment and
Viacom
The following organisations are also supporting the competition:
Alliance for IP, BBFC, BFI, British Copyright Council, British Screen Advisory Council (BSAC), Copyright
Licensing Agency, Industry Trust, Intellectual Property Office (IPO), Into Film, Luther Pendragon,
Society of Authors, The Brit School, Visual Data Ltd, Writers’ Guild of Great Britain
Further Information
Please email info@filmthehouse.co.uk or phone Barbara or Alison at ALCS on 020 7264 5700 for
further information about the competition